welcome baby d.

Derek Thomas Golinski

February 21, 2013

7 lbs 11oz.

You may have noticed that I have been absent for the past 10 days and it is because my husband and I were welcoming our son into the world.  This also means that you probably won't see me on here for a bit as we continue to settle in and snuggle a lot :)  

a cheery sight on a dreary day.

February is probably my least favorite month. Winter is in full swing, all the holiday excitement is over, football ends, need I go on? The funniest part is that while it's the shortest month it always feels the longest. Especially this year as I await the arrival of our little man in a few short ( or long) weeks.  

Anyhow, my husband works next to a hot air balloon manufacturer or distributor and I was helping do an odd job at his work this week (so much for maternity leave!).  This sight was what greeted us yesterday morning when we pulled into the parking lot.  I am usually not one for taking phone pictures but I couldn't resist. They made me smile and I wanted to share that with you all :)

What brightens your day during this dreariest of months?

my space

In my earlier post about what being 'everyday creative' means to me, I mentioned that I have an open work space where I can leave various projects out to work on.  I prefer to work in spurts and little bits, but sometimes will sit down for a good two hour stretch, although that's rare.

I also feel that creating in this way, in this space, will allow me to keep doing so once the little guy gets here.  I have a special project planned for him, that I will be sharing with you soon.

what being 'everyday creative' means to me.

One of the things I wanted to focus on in relaunching my blog was really figuring out what being 'everyday creative' means to me and trying to implement that into my life this year and I embark on this journey called motherhood.

This may sound obvious, but stay with me.  I have found that being 'everyday creative' means two things:

--finding ways to infuse my everyday (busy, imperfect, unexpected, routine, fun, chaotic, full of love) life with creativity

--drawing inspiration to fuel that creativity from the going ons of my everyday life

Simple right?  But it's really more about the 'how' than the 'what'.

Here are some ways I go about these two things (while these work for me, they may not for you, so feel free to adopt whatever fits into your lifestyle):

--work in spurts. My desk is out in the open with an in-progress project always on it ready to go.
--online inspiration time.  I take 30-45 minutes to browse blogs, get ispired, and either sip coffee or sparkling water.
--reinventing and using things I see everyday in a newway, or translating it to a project I am working on
--sketches and lists. I make a LOT of them. I have many notebooks, sheets of paper, and clipboards to help me try and make sense of what goes on in my head.
--taking a mundane activity and trying to wring creativity out of it (this could be laundry, cooking, organzing, etc.)
--music, movies, and window shopping
--stream of conciousness projects, or creating without thinking.  This could be art journals, kids art, or doodling.
--remembering to love/use/be thankful for what you do have instead of wishing for things you don't.

I will be elaborating more on these thoughts throughout my other posts.

Any suggestions or thoughts on how to go about living 'everyday creative'?